Optional Activities

Aqua Alpine Hakuba will help you organise various optional activities in Hakuba area during the ski season. It might be nice to take a day off from the slopes and experience new things, or you may also try even more advanced ski through Heli Ski Tour or Back Country Ski Tour.

Matsumoto Castle Tour (1 Day Tour)

This is a full-day tour to Matsumoto City to visit the famous Matsumoto Castle, experience Japanese culture and enjoy Japanese cuisine. In Japan there are only four castles that have been designated as "National Treasures" and Matsumoto Castle is one of them.

The five-storied donjon is one of the oldest castle structures extant in Japan. Construction of the main donjon began in 1592 when warlords around the country struggled for dominance. Matsumoto Castle is one of the few great castles of the feudal era to survive in its original form.

This can also be a self guided tour (Free English guide available at Matsumoto castle upon reservation made 2 weeks in advance). Aqua Alpine will provide you with the maps so you can enjoy exploring the many historical sites around the city at your own leisure. There are numerous stores and galleries sell fine traditional crafts and local foods of the Shinshu area.

Snow Monkey + Zenkoji Temple Tour (1 Day Tour)

The worldly famous Jigokudani Monkey Park is home to about 200 wild monkeys who spend their days soaking in the natural hotsprings, keeping warm from the harsh winter. The park was opened in 1964 and is considered to be the only place in the world to see snow monkeys bathing in the wild.

The hike to the hot-springs takes about 20 to 30 minutes each way. Departing from the Kambayashi Onsen we make our way to the historic town of Obuse, home to the famous Japanese artist Hokusai and the museum dedicated to his works. Enjoy a traditionally cooked superb Japanese set menu lunch (various options available) at the Masuichi Club Restaurant, which is an open style country restaurant and see the beautifully preserved 200 year old Masuichi Sake Brewery & of course enjoy many different types of Japanese Sake.

The next stop is Nagano City, home to Zenkoji Temple which is a designated national treasure and has a history of over 1400 years. It is one of Japan's most revered temples and house the first image of Buddha brought to Japan in the 7th century. The streets surrounding the temple are lined with lantern lit shops and tiered roofed stalls, souvenir shops, restaurants and galleries.

Snow Shoe Trail Hiking

Experience a world away from the crowds and lift-lines and explore the silence of Hakuba's more removed areas on snowshoes. The Hakuba area has endless trails on mountain ridges or through old growth forests and shrines, with truly some of the best Alpine views in all of Japan.

We run snowshoe full day and half day tours everyday* from mid December to the end of April (Please ask our staff for dates).

If your game enough, we will provide you a map of the mountain so that you can enjoy snow shoe hiking on your own! Snow shoes are available for hire at the rental shop Winpy Box close to Escal Plaza.

Snow Mobile

Backcountry Tour

Come and explore the vast Hakuba backcountry and some of the very best powder skiing in Japan. The Japanese Alps average 12+ meters of somewhat dry powder each year (see our Hakuba Snow Report), and no other mountain range in Japan has comparable terrain - Japan Powder doesn't get much better than this. Evergreen offers certified avalanche professionals and seasoned backcountry guides for our Japan backcountry tours.

All backcountry tour participants are asked to attend a pre-tour briefing the day prior at 17:00 at the Wadano Base. This briefing will be a chance to meet your guide, go over routes, organize gear and rentals and cover the following day's schedule.

Heli Ski

One of Hakuba's lesser known adventures is Heliskiing at Tsugaike. One of the few places you can actually Heliski in Japan, this option will give you access to the large and almost untouched back country of the Tsugaike Highlands, located above the Tsugaike Ski Resort.

The Tsugaike Highlands is formed along a long plateau behind the Tsugaike Resort. Most of this back country area is quite flat and wide and great for first timers to this kind of skiing and boarding. If you can ski or board at an intermediate level, you will be able to handle the Tsugaike Heliskiing. Advanced skiers and boarders can rest assured that there is also plenty of spots to challenge yourselves on the descent.

The course is extremely well priced, with one run costing around AU$140. For this, you will get a 20-30 minute ride from Tsugaike Resort all the way up to the top of the ridgeline, located a nice 14km from the base and 2200m above sea level. It's a great way to start the day as it feeds you back into the Tsugaike Resort, you can make a day of it and continue skiing the resort after you descend.

This is a fantastic way to experience Heliskiing for the first timer and still provides a great morning out for the more advanced skiers and riders. Tsugaike Heliskiing is available from March and runs most days provided the weather is suitable for flying.

Kimono & Tea Ceremony Tour

You can experience kimono dressing at a building built in Edo period. There will be lots of colourful and elegant kimonos to choose from. The professional kimono teacher will put you in a beautiful kimono for you to go and experience traditional tea ceremony. Make sure you take lots of photos and share with your friends and family.

Nozawa Fire Festival (Jan 15 every year)

Enjoy one of the three greatest fire festivals in Japan, the view of flaming fire in the snow at Nozawa Onsen if you are staying in the area around mid-January. A massive tower is erected as a petition for the health and growth of first born sons. At night, villagers rush at the tower with torches. The Yakudoshi (厄年) people, a set of believed "unlucky" ages in Japan, the 25 year olds fight them off at the base and the 42 year olds protect the top. The event climaxes in a massive bonfire as the tower succumbs to the flames. The festival’s power and energy have to be seen to be believed.